Akershus county council contributes to growth in the health industry

A key initiative has been the Vekst i Viken 2.0 project, carried out from 2023 to 2025. The aim was to give health technology companies better conditions for reaching the market – both in Norway and internationally.

During the project period, 51 courses and meeting places were organised, bringing together around 2,000 participants from industry, the healthcare sector, and academia. In total, 255 companies took part in various activities, and more than 550 employees from growth companies received competence development in areas such as market access, sales to the healthcare sector, and international scaling. The project also established arenas where companies could present their solutions directly to decision-makers in the healthcare services. More than 700 leaders and professionals from the public sector participated in these meeting places.

– This project demonstrates the power of closely connecting needs owners and the health industry. Funding from Akershus County Council has made it possible to make things happen faster and with greater impact, says Kari Anne Dehli, Head of Market Access at Norway Health Tech.

– I am deeply committed to creating meeting places that trigger real innovation and help ensure that good solutions reach where they are needed.

The cluster’s companies gain close access to customers and other relevant stakeholders in the various meeting places.

Digital marketplace for health technology

A concrete outcome of the work is the development of a digital marketplace for health technology on the cluster’s website, created in collaboration with partners including Gnist Sykehuspartner. The platform allows companies to showcase their solutions and document the impact their technology has on healthcare services.

– If more solutions are to be adopted, it must become easier for healthcare services to navigate the market. A shared marketplace, combined with meeting places and competence-building, helps connect needs and solutions more quickly, Dehli adds.

The projects have also contributed to strengthening collaboration between industry, healthcare services, and research environments in the region. When companies, municipalities, hospitals, and academia meet through shared activities and development processes, the path from idea to testing, piloting, and implementation in healthcare becomes shorter.

– For us at NetNordic Care, the meeting places within the project have been highly valuable. We have gained closer insight into the needs of the healthcare services and established direct dialogue with decision-makers, enabling us to develop and deliver solutions that truly address real needs, says Ina M. Brentebråten‑Guldbrandsen, Sales Director at NetNordic Care.

– This collaboration has given us insight, networks, and greater momentum!

Collaboration continues into 2027

The work will now continue through a new project funded by Akershus County Council for the period 2026–2027. The project aims to strengthen commercialisation competence among founders and growth companies, with a particular focus on sales, pricing, scaling, and international market access.

At the same time, efforts will be made to improve framework conditions in the region in a more systematic way—among other things through closer dialogue with municipalities and healthcare services on piloting, testing opportunities, and implementation of new technology.

During the project period, collaboration within the ecosystem will be further developed through meeting places, mentoring schemes, and more structured models for cooperation between industry, the public sector, and research environments. The goal is to make it easier for companies to identify the right partners—and for healthcare services to gain a clear overview of relevant solutions.

From left: Kari Anne Dehli, Head of Market Access at Norway Health Tech, and Lars Salvesen, County Councillor for Business, Sport, Diversity and Public Health, Akershus County Council. 📸Akershus County Council

– For us, this is about facilitating growth in an industry with significant potential. At the same time, strong interaction between industry and healthcare services is crucial for successful innovation. Norway Health Tech plays a unique role in bringing actors together across the ecosystem and translating collaboration into concrete results, which is why it is natural for us to continue this commitment through a new project, says Lars Salvesen, County Councillor for Business, Sport, Diversity and Public Health, Akershus County Council.

The new project is carried out in collaboration with partners including Roche Diagnostics Norway, Novartis Norway, AstraZeneca, OsloMet Intelligent Health, Atea, and the municipalities of Bærum, Lillestrøm, and Asker.

For more information about the project and upcoming activities, please contact Kari Anne Dehli.